Music Trade Review
Issue: 1921 Vol. 73 N. 26 - Page 3
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
Rfflffl
THE
VOL. LXXIII. No. 26
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman BUI, Inc., at 373 4th Ave., New York.
Dec. 24, 1921
Single Copies 10 Cents
12.00 Per Yesr
Piano Development and the Critics
T
H E remark is frequently heard, both in and out of the trade, that there has not been any'marked and
distinctive development in piano construction for many years, and there are those who maintain that
such a condition tends to hinder the progress of the industry.
It is the chief delight of critics to call attention to the fact that the general characteristics of the
various piano scales are the same—that with the exception of a few minor details the structural features of the
various instruments are similar and that no real attempt has been made to change the form of the piano or to
offer something new to the public.
The trouble with those who criticize accomplishments in piano development is that in most cases they base
their opinions on surface indications and neglect to go into the matter sufficiently to realize the many details
that have been changed for the better within the last decade or so and which have helped toward tonal and
structural perfection. Although the player-piano and the reproducing piano simply represent mechanical addi-
tions to the basic instrument, they have played a very definite part in maintaining and increasing public interest
and are to be hailed with considerable satisfaction, for with piano production in 1921 just about equal to that
of 1913 one pauses to wonder just what would have happened to the industry if, during those years, we had had
to depend solely upon the straight piano.
It is, of course, acknowledged that the small grand is in many respects the dominating instrument of the
day, but the player-piano, even if we purposely narrow down its mission, has served to fill in the gap between
the straight upright and the grand. The small grand, incidentally, represents a trade development that is not
to be ignored. It is true that successful small grand pianos were produced a number of years ago, but the
production of those instruments and the exploitation thereof on a basis that has served to make their distinctive
merits better known is a more modern achievement. "
Everything considered, it would seem that piano merchants have been fortunate in being able to handle a
product subject to so few radical changes except in the matter of case design. In fact, no single factor has so
tended to stabilize the industry. If the piano had been a temporary or seasonable product, subject to radical
changes each year, with a view to maintaining public interest and causing former buyers to reinvest, then the
retailer would have been faced with the problem of either limiting his business to a point where he required only
a minimum stock, or of carrying a normal stock and taking chances of being compelled to sacrifice the surplus
at a loss in order to make room for the new lines.
It has been claimed, and probably with some degree of truth, that there is a lack of real scientific knowl-
edge in the production end of the piano industry, but this condition is steadily being remedied with the result that
the alleged faults of some of the present-day instruments are now slowly but surely being eliminated through the
increasing application of scientific methods in piano construction.
This fact can easily be demonstrated by comparing the average piano of a quarter-century ago with its
present-day counterpart. Such a comparison will show that even the so-called commercial instrument of to-day
has tonal qualities and structural perfections which were the exception, rather than the rule, in years gone by.
The improvements in piano construction have come slowly, and their gradual adoption has caused them to be
unnoticed to a great extent by the public at large, but the fact remains that the piano of to-day is, generally
speaking, a better musical instrument than was its predecessor of twenty-five years ago.
The question of increasing the output and maintaining public interest is not one of offering each year, or
every few years, some radical departure in piano construction, the details of which must be sold to the public
before the venture proves a success. What is needed is broad, consistent advertising through all the varied
channels that are now open to the average business man, followed by the sort of selling campaign that is
bound to get results for the energy that is put into it.
Rfflffl
THE
VOL. LXXIII. No. 26
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman BUI, Inc., at 373 4th Ave., New York.
Dec. 24, 1921
Single Copies 10 Cents
12.00 Per Yesr
Piano Development and the Critics
T
H E remark is frequently heard, both in and out of the trade, that there has not been any'marked and
distinctive development in piano construction for many years, and there are those who maintain that
such a condition tends to hinder the progress of the industry.
It is the chief delight of critics to call attention to the fact that the general characteristics of the
various piano scales are the same—that with the exception of a few minor details the structural features of the
various instruments are similar and that no real attempt has been made to change the form of the piano or to
offer something new to the public.
The trouble with those who criticize accomplishments in piano development is that in most cases they base
their opinions on surface indications and neglect to go into the matter sufficiently to realize the many details
that have been changed for the better within the last decade or so and which have helped toward tonal and
structural perfection. Although the player-piano and the reproducing piano simply represent mechanical addi-
tions to the basic instrument, they have played a very definite part in maintaining and increasing public interest
and are to be hailed with considerable satisfaction, for with piano production in 1921 just about equal to that
of 1913 one pauses to wonder just what would have happened to the industry if, during those years, we had had
to depend solely upon the straight piano.
It is, of course, acknowledged that the small grand is in many respects the dominating instrument of the
day, but the player-piano, even if we purposely narrow down its mission, has served to fill in the gap between
the straight upright and the grand. The small grand, incidentally, represents a trade development that is not
to be ignored. It is true that successful small grand pianos were produced a number of years ago, but the
production of those instruments and the exploitation thereof on a basis that has served to make their distinctive
merits better known is a more modern achievement. "
Everything considered, it would seem that piano merchants have been fortunate in being able to handle a
product subject to so few radical changes except in the matter of case design. In fact, no single factor has so
tended to stabilize the industry. If the piano had been a temporary or seasonable product, subject to radical
changes each year, with a view to maintaining public interest and causing former buyers to reinvest, then the
retailer would have been faced with the problem of either limiting his business to a point where he required only
a minimum stock, or of carrying a normal stock and taking chances of being compelled to sacrifice the surplus
at a loss in order to make room for the new lines.
It has been claimed, and probably with some degree of truth, that there is a lack of real scientific knowl-
edge in the production end of the piano industry, but this condition is steadily being remedied with the result that
the alleged faults of some of the present-day instruments are now slowly but surely being eliminated through the
increasing application of scientific methods in piano construction.
This fact can easily be demonstrated by comparing the average piano of a quarter-century ago with its
present-day counterpart. Such a comparison will show that even the so-called commercial instrument of to-day
has tonal qualities and structural perfections which were the exception, rather than the rule, in years gone by.
The improvements in piano construction have come slowly, and their gradual adoption has caused them to be
unnoticed to a great extent by the public at large, but the fact remains that the piano of to-day is, generally
speaking, a better musical instrument than was its predecessor of twenty-five years ago.
The question of increasing the output and maintaining public interest is not one of offering each year, or
every few years, some radical departure in piano construction, the details of which must be sold to the public
before the venture proves a success. What is needed is broad, consistent advertising through all the varied
channels that are now open to the average business man, followed by the sort of selling campaign that is
bound to get results for the energy that is put into it.
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).